Chapter 377: Disney Prince
After renting raincoats, Sakurai Saki and Shinomiya Kaguya sat in seats fairly close to the front.
There were quite a lot of visitors coming to watch the dolphin show, and most of the seats were already full.
The front rows were rather empty, perhaps because many people were afraid of getting splashed.
During the day, the show mainly targeted children, so the atmosphere was lively and cheerful, while at night it was more suitable for dating couples.
In the central pool, a staff member wearing a diving suit was performing, and the dolphins followed her gestures and movements.
Under the lights and special effects, the entire scene became dazzlingly magnificent.
Sakurai Saki noticed that Shinomiya Kaguya was watching in deep fascination.
Every time the dolphins leapt high into the air, Shinomiya Kaguya's eyes sparkled as she followed them intently.
"So cute."
(๑♡⩊♡๑)
Shinomiya Kaguya whispered.
This was her first time visiting an aquarium.
Previously, she never had the chance — no friends, no acquaintances, and too many daily affairs to handle — each week there were already plenty of guests to entertain at the mansion.
"Huh?"
Shinomiya Kaguya let out a small sound.
The reason she suddenly made a noise was that the three dolphins performing with the trainer suddenly started swimming toward her.
Even the trainer herself had never seen such a scene.
She had performed hundreds, even thousands of times, but this was the first time she saw the dolphins abandon her commands on their own and rush off.
Soon, she spotted the two people sitting at the edge of the pool.
If one had to describe them with a phrase, it would surely be — a handsome man and a beautiful woman.
A truly well-matched couple was sitting there.
There was a trace of awkwardness on the young man's face, as if he had no idea how to handle this situation.
The trainer quickly apologized: "I'm so sorry, dear guests."
Then, she tried gesturing and signaling with her hands to call the dolphins back, but the three of them still crowded by the railing gap, poking their pointed snouts toward Sakurai Saki.
'So they've come after all.'
Sakurai Saki sighed inwardly — he knew it was because of his ability.
[Name: Dolphin]
[Description: A not-so-common animal]
[Current status: Longing to be touched.]
"Can I touch them?"
Sakurai Saki asked the trainer.
"Of course!"
The trainer realized that all the audience's attention had now shifted entirely toward the shore.
Sakurai Saki reached out his hand and lightly patted each dolphin's pointed snout in turn — the part that protruded forward like a mouth.
The dolphins let out slightly sharp cries, then dove back into the water and leapt high in the center of the pool.
Just as the trainer sighed in relief, thinking the show could resume, the three "mischievous" dolphins once again swam toward Sakurai Saki.
As for the person involved, he was already covering his face with his hands.
At this moment, the eyes of hundreds of spectators in the stands were all fixed on him. If possible, Sakurai truly wanted to find a hole, burrow straight through to the other side of the Earth, and spend the rest of his life there.
Unfortunately, there was no hole to crawl into.
'Didn't expect once wasn't enough.'
These dolphins were far too greedy.
Shinomiya Kaguya watched him interact with the dolphins, and a hint of envy appeared on her face.
"Can I try touching them too?" she asked.
The trainer nodded.
Anyway, this show was already completely ruined — might as well just let it be!
Shinomiya Kaguya carefully reached out her hand, and then...
The dolphins dodged.
They dodged very decisively, immediately swimming several meters away, as if they had just seen something terrifying.
Shinomiya Kaguya: ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
She looked down at her own hand, starting to doubt her life.
Since childhood, this was the first time Kaguya had been avoided by animals. Normally, animals were quite fond of her.
"Sorry, our dolphins are trained not to get too close to guests, it's not your fault." The trainer, seeing that sadness appear on that beautiful face, quickly tried to comfort her.
Even when a beautiful person cries, they still look better than ordinary people smiling.
Today, the trainer realized a truth that made her feel a little sad.
"Pfft..." Sakurai Saki looked at Shinomiya Kaguya's expression and couldn't help but laugh.
The scene was just too funny.
Shinomiya Kaguya didn't bother asking why the dolphins were friendly with Sakurai Saki but avoided her.
Asking such a thing would only make her look even more foolish, and it wasn't like it mattered anyway.
Still, it was infuriating!
...
After watching the dolphin show, the two of them went to the undersea tunnel on the second floor.
When they had finished touring the aquarium, it was just about noon.
After that, they went to have lunch.
In the afternoon, they stopped by a nearby park for a walk. During that time, Sakurai Saki was surrounded by a group of crows, stray cats, and stray dogs. Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't stop laughing for quite a while as she watched his flustered expression.
It seemed that being overly loved by animals wasn't necessarily a good thing.
...
On the last day of Golden Week, Sakurai Saki had promised to go play games at a net cafe with Fujiwara Chika.
The location was in Shinjuku, which was close to Chika's home. She said that if her father suddenly returned home, she could quickly go back and avoid getting caught.
This girl really went to extreme lengths just to play games.
Childhood wounds sometimes take an entire lifetime to heal.
When she was young, Chika had been far too strict with herself in learning piano, leaving no room for fun.
If it hadn't been for Shinomiya Kaguya's words awakening her, she might have continued to live like a machine forever.
Since high school, Fujiwara Chika had started playing board games, and on her days off she would go to net cafes to play video games — this had a lot to do with how strict her family was.
Where there is oppression, there will be resistance.
And ahead of her... was freedom.
...
Sakurai Saki entered the high-end-looking net cafe. After telling the receptionist that he had made a reservation, he headed toward the private room at the very back.
In Japan, many homeless people choose to live in net cafes. The cost is very cheap, about 2000 yen per night. In addition to internet access, there are also showers and other services available — though the space is cramped, and staying long-term can feel suffocating.
He knocked on the door.
"Who's there?"
Chika's voice came from inside.
"It's me, it's me."
"We don't entertain salespeople here, you know."
"...I'm coming in."
Sakurai Saki no longer had the mood to play around with her jokes.
In Japan, there's a type of scam where a swindler pretends to be an acquaintance to trick someone out of money, called "ore, ore da" — meaning "it's me, it's me."
But Fujiwara Chika had obviously recognized his voice.
She was just teasing him for fun.
After opening the door, Sakurai Saki glanced inside — the decor was fairly simple and ordinary.
There was a faint smell of disinfectant, which meant the place was well-kept. Some other net cafes were dirty and filled with all kinds of strange odors.
"Yahallo~" Fujiwara Chika waved to greet Sakurai Saki.
ヾ(＾ ∇ ＾).
What the hell, what kind of weird greeting was that?
Was she Fujiwara Chika or Yuigahama Chika now?
"Good morning~" Sakurai Saki took off his baseball jacket and hung it on the nearby coat rack.
On the rack, besides his own jacket, hung a light-colored coat that Chika had just taken off.
"So, what are we playing today?"
Inside the room were two computers; Chika had already turned one on. On the screen was... League of Legends?
Sakurai Saki had never seen her play that game before.
Previously, because the senior in the board game club — "Mega-ko" — liked playing shooters, even when Chika talked about games, her topics were always about shooting games.
So why was she suddenly switching to a MOBA today?
"Anything's fine~"
Fujiwara Chika glanced around the small, enclosed space, her heart filled with excitement.
When there were only two people together, the smaller the space, the better.
The game was just an excuse. She had already checked carefully — there were no surveillance cameras here.
...